Reviews of Le Mâle (1995)
by Jean Paul Gaultier

Smells like toothpaste in the top!

Though, it has a nice vanilla base but the middle notes is awful.

Strong vanilla base.... for my taste not elegant,enough said...!

Sorry, I can't be moderate about this perfume. It's really horrible. Too much synth sweetness and no personality in it. At the beginning, when it was launched, it was nice... a new kind of stuff for men, but today all men who want to seem modern or "metrosxual" use it. And it's really disgusting, specially in a perfume that lasts sooo looooooooong... I don't get why girls like it so much...; I had many compliments of them...

Cheapo synthetic vanilla cloying with an overdose of tonka drydown.
Otherwise perfection---in marketing.

The bottle is the biggest hit since Coca Cola decided to copy a woman's curves in theirs. And, from the official JPG ad:

"Since Jean Paul Gaultier's first men's collection, he has shown men that they can indulge in the forbidden, and that a kilt or dress can be worn with virility."

Yeah, I can see Braveheart forsaking his kilt to wear a dress, preferably a sequined gown while leading The Scots in battle.

We continue the hype:

" A reminder to them that nothing in life is totally black or white but always a blend."

Welcome to Orwellian Doublespeak. How many fingers am I holding up, Winslow?

"Jean Paul Gaultier now transforms the man in a sailor's T-shirt into both the symbol and bottle of Le Male."

Alone tonight, sailor?

This love it or hate it stuff. I hate it.

I like quite a few sweet orientals, but not this one. It's undeniably potent, but the sugar avalanche that descends as soon as I open the bottle sends me running for shelter. Once the minty/synthetic-chemical topnotes disappear I'm left with nothing but a spilled jar of vanilla extract.

Not, admittedly, in the same ninth-circle-of-the-inferno league as A*Men, but not something I want to smell too often, either. Too bad for me, since every second guy you pass seems to be wearing it. In fact, Le Male is so overexposed I don't think I'd wear it even if I did like it. Not impressed with the gimmicky packaging either.

I could not wear Le Male anywhere, and would not like to smell it on anyone else either. It horrifies me that anyone would willingly spend money on this atrocious concoction. What is it with Gaultier fragrances that they all have that depressing chemical tang? It's the fragrance equivalent of Diet Vanilla Coke or something, with dirty old paraffin mixed in for extra bitterness.

Dreadful.

Doesn't suit me at all, this sweet vanilla perfume is just so strong and almost feminine. Such a strong presence can be created better and less obviously by other fragrances, my suggestion would be joop.

Too intense for me. Top notes are OK, but it turns into a monster that that I wish I could shake off. This is not for a cool, subtle personality. Its for the one who feels comfortable being the one and only - 'le male'. Easy big fella..

I totally hate this scent. I can't see why it's so popular. And worse thing is, the people who use this one generally spray a lot of it on them.Very peppery ,very minty , and very very long lasting. Even the basenotes feel harsh. Unforgettable, but i wouldn't like to smell it again. Please not again!Unique packing.

I don't know what it is about Le Male, but it just reminds me of Aqua Net Hairpsray. Not entirely awful, but overwhelming and unwearable.

I have never worn this, not because of its ubiquity, but because of its cloying, sickly intensity, from head notes to dry down. It's one of my all-time least liked fragrances and for me, indicates something of a perfume wrong turn in the mid-90s. I don't like the metrosexual smell thing I guess.

This stuff is gross, and I find the bottle very tacky. I don't think that the cinnoman and lavender go good together at all.

Oh I hate this stuff, I smell it everywhere in London, it smells like burnt rubber and acids, Yuck!

Smells like toothpaste. Doesn't last as long as I expected, but in this case that's a blessing.

I think when I´m seventy years old and dying, then smell in the room will resemble this scent. this cologne is awful

An extremely potent scent that I used to like but have developed an aversion to it due to the number of sickly-sweet cloying oversprayed college students wearing this scent in the full heat of summer. It is very unfortunate as it is a great scent when lightly applied.

You cant deny how innovative this fragrance is, but that doesn't mean it is wearable. This is a truly atomic strength fragrance destroying everything in its path with sickly sweetness. God save us!!!

I'd rather smell of cat wee than this. Easily the most god awful smell on the marked. Sour vanilla or something. I felt ill.

When I first smelled it I liked it a little, although to me it smells very strange--a little vanillic, a little synthetic leathery, very chemical. Then everyone started wearing it, and it became less appealing. Now some people STILL wear it, and it's completely lost its appeal. It's air pollution, this stuff: you always know when someone has it on, because they scent everything in their path for miles! It's just too strong, and I thought I'd never say that about a fragrance! But it's just too much. I wish it would go away.

This is a definite stink! I got a chance to spray some on my skin to check what its all about. But to my disappointment, what i got was a headache. When i got home and my girlfriend came over, she noticed a disgusting smell on me and said she didn't like that smell. I said it was nothing but still she took a sniff at my neck just to check. Luckily, she just smelled the scent i wore that morning which was Quorum (how about that for scent longevity, huh!) and she forgot about the Le Male i sprayed at the back of my hand. I got away with that one.... whew! From now on, i'll just stay away from this scent as much as possible.

Never taken to this one ... tried it .. but it's one of those that has something musty about it ( for me at least anyway ) ... It has always reminded me of something .. i think it's that kids stuff .. " Play Dough "?